Elastic braid made of both dull and bright threads



Nov. 22, 1960 M. SEMMEL 2,960,904

ELASTIC BRAID MADE OF BOTH DULL AND BRIGHT THREADS Filed April 8, 1958'MWIL FILELI'Wmm v n E INVENTOR. 5 MAX 5EMMEL Arrozwers United StatesPatent ELASTIC BRAID MADE OF BOTH DULL AND BRIGHT THREADS Max 'Semmel,Yonkers, N.Y., assignor to Allied Elastic Braid Corporation, New York,N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 8, 1958, Ser. No. 727,084

3 Claims. (Cl. 87-2) This invention relates to braid, and moreparticularly to elastic braid made of rayon.

The primary object of the present invention is to generally improve flatelastic rayon braid.

Such braid has heretofore been made for the most part out of brightrayon. However, with the increasing use of dull rayon for ladiesundergarments or the like, there has been a demand for elastic braidmade of dull rayon. This has introduced a problem in greatly increasingthe percentage of rejects of the finished elastic braid, particularlywhen made in white or very light colors, because of the presence of darkspecks, apparently dirty or dark lint. l have found that whereas suchspecks did not adhere to the bright rayon during the braiding operation,they do tend to adhere to the dull rayon threads. These specks appear inthe finished braid, and lead to rejects.

Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to improve flatelastic braid made of dull rayon, with a view to minimizing the problemof such rejects. I have found that the introduction of some strands ofbright rayon, although white or of the same light color as the dullstrands, slightly breaks up the otherwise uniform surface of the braid,and gives it a slightly changed appearance against which the aforesaidspecks of lint are not nearly as noticeable. Actual experience has shownthat when the dull surface thus is spotted with bright threads, there isan efiect presumably caused by difierence in light reflection, whichmakes the heretofore troublesome specks relatively unnoticeable.

To accomplish the foregoing general object, and other more specificobjects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in theelastic braid elements and their relation one to another, as arehereinafter more particularly described in the following specification.The specification is accompanied by a drawing, in which- Fig. 1 shows afragment of fiat elastic braid made of dull rayon and having some specksof trapped lint;

Fig. 2 is a similar fragmentary and schematic view of a piece of flatelastic braid, in which the dull rayon strands are interspersed withsome bright rayon strands; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a braiding machine.

A braid is formed by crossing a number of strands diagonally in such away that each strand passes alternately over and under one or more ofthe others. In a regular braid, each strand passes alternately over andunder two of the opposite strands, and the braid shows two completedouble ribs or lines of herring-bone shape.

A braiding machine is shown in Fig. 3, but not in detail because theconstruction may be standard. Such machines are constructed with twocircular horizontal plates between which a train of gears operates.These plates are within frame ring 12. The gears have flanges or hornsat the top which engage the bottom end of the bobbin carriers 14 onwhich the yarn is held. The upper of the two plates is formed with aserpentine path to guide the bobbin carriers. These carry the bobbins ofyarn, and provide suitable tension. The serpentine paths cause themeshing of the stands. The braid appears at 16, and is turned sidewardat 18, and delivered into a bin at 20.

Flat elastic braid is made by passing a rubber thread under tensionthrough the center of each horn gear of the braiding machine as thebraid is being formed. The threads are transferred in suitable fixturesfor controlling the tension evenly. Individual tensions for each rubberthread may be used. These extra parts have been omitted in Fig. 3,because they may be standard, and are not part of the present invention.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the flat elastic braid 32 has longitudinalthreads 34 which are made of rubber or any equivalent material havingthe elastic properties of rubber. These are completely concealed withindiagonally braided strands of inelastic thread, specifically dull rayon.The strands here assumed to all be write, or of the same light or pastelcolor, that is, the braid as heretofore made presents a light monotoneappearance. A few bits or specks of dark lint are shown trapped in thebraid at 36, 38, and 40.

Such specks have proved extremely troublesome since the advent ofelastic braid made of dull rayon, in contradistinction to earlier braidmade of bright rayon. It seems that specks of dirt or lint tend toadhere to the dull rayon strands during the braiding operation to a muchgreater extent than was the case with the bright rayon, presumablybecause of the harder, shinier surface of the latter. These specks havecaused considerable loss to the manufacturer because of rejection ofquantities of finished flat elastic braid by the purchaser, say amanufacturer of undergarments.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the braid there shown is similarly a flatelastic braid 42 having parallel longitudinal strands 44 of rubber orequivalent elastic material. The rubber strands are concealed withindiagonally braided strands, most of which are made of dull rayonindicated at 46. However, some strands of bright rayon are interspersed,as indicated at 48. These result in tiny islands or areas which areglossy and reflect light in different fashion from the dull strands,even though all have the same color.

With this construction it is found that the presence of specks of lintis not nearly as noticeable, and that a degree of imperfection whichwould lead to rejection in the case of the braid shown in Fig. 1, isreadily accepted without rejection in the case of the braid shown inFig. 2. Apparently the few strands of bright rayon give the surface aslightly broken or non-uniform appearance when viewed overall, and thishelps conceal the presence of dirt or lint caught by the strands duringthe braiding operation.

To accomplish this result, it is merely necessary to replace some of thespools of dull rayon with spools of bright rayon in the fiat braidingmachine shown in Fig. 3.

In the particular case here shown, seven strands of dull rayon arefollowed by two of bright rayon, or, in respect to those strandsextending diagonally in the other direction six strands of dull rayonare followed by two strands of bright rayon. Of course, the differencein area is much greater, as it depends on the product or multiplication.

The dull and the bright rayon are preferably of the same denier. Forexample, if the dull strands are of 300 denier, the bright should be thesame, but if the dull are of 450 denier, the bright should be of 450denier.

The particular braiding machine here shown is a conventional machinemanufactured by New England Butt Co. at Providence, R.I.. In Fig. 3 thesupply reels for the elastic thread have been omitted in order not tounnecessarily complicate the drawing.

In respect to Fig. 2 of the drawing it be understood I that the shadingof threads 48 does not mean that they are darker threads. It is intendedmerely to show the highlights which are indicative of the gloss or shineof the threads 48. i

It is believed thta the constriiction'and method of make ing my improvedflat elastic braid, as well as the advan'-' tage thereof, will beapparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also beapparent that while I have shown and described my invention in apreferred form, changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention as sought to be defined in the following claims. 7

I claim:

1. A flat elastic braid having longitudinal elasticlthreads concealedwithin diagonally braided strands ofinelastic thread, said strands allhaving the same color, most of said strands having a dull finish butsome of said strands having a bright finish, thereby giving the surfaceof the fiat braid a slightly broken or non-uniform appearance whichhelps conceal the presence of dirt or lint caught during the braidingoperation.

2. A flat elastic braid having longitudinal elastic threads concealedwithin diagonally braided strands of rayon thread, said strands allhaving the same color, most of said strands being a dull rayon, but someof said strands being a bright rayon, thereby giving the surface of thefiat braid a slightly broken 'or non-uniform appearance which helpsconceal the presence of dirt or lint caught during the braidingoperation.

3. A flat braid having diagonally braided strands of rayon thread, saidstrands all having the same color, most of said strands being a dullrayon, but some of said strands being a bright rayon, thereby giving thesurface of the fiat braid a slightly broken or non-uniform appearancewhich helps conceal the presence of dirt or lint caught during thebraiding opeartion.

References :Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,773,905 Kirsner Aug. 26, 1930 1,995,868 Sidebottam Mar. 26, 1935 202,590,995 Merrill e t Apr. 1, 1952 2,615,477 Grawley -e t oer. 28, 1952FOREIGN PATENTS 158,678 Germany a May 10, 1940

